Dave Madden, best remembered as a character actor on two successful sitcoms which spanned the late-1960s to the mid-1980s, (The Partridge Family and Alice respectively) has passed away at the age of 82 at his current residency in Fruit Cove, Florida.

Madden (who was born in Canada), kept himself busy as a utility player on many programs during the 1970s, and had a face, like Allan Melvin, best remembered as Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, which was instantly recognizable to TV audiences. To those who discovered his two main shows, The Partridge Family and Alice originally or later on in reruns, Madden was known right away as a main presence on the programs, even if the man’s name itself wasn’t a household word.

Madden, played Reuben Kincaid on The Partridge Family. The program starred Shirley Jones and her son David Cassidy, as a single mother raising a group of children, who also happens to be a singing ensemble. Kincaid was the band’s manager. The light-hearted show was a hit with the young audience and spawned several real life chart hits and album sales. On Alice, a show about another single mother, this time raising a son in Arizona and employed as a waitress in a greasy spoon diner to make ends meet, Madden was Earl Hicks, a regular customer, who had a recurring role enough to keep him as a presence on that program as well.

Now another famed and memorable character actor has passed, but one who will remain always a visage on the small screen, as The Partridge Family and Alice have their place in 1970s sitcom lore.

RIP Dave Madden
1931 — 2014